By: Shelby Soltau '16
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Women's cross country star Lauren Germany seeks to continue to improve this year. So far, Germany ran a personal best time of 18:24 in the 5K at the Bronco Invite on Oct. 13. In addition, she ran a PR in the 6K on Sept. 15 at the WCC Preview, clocking a 22:38.78.
The teams are preparing for the WCC Cross Country Championship on Saturday, Oct. 27 in Portland, Oregon. SantaClaraBroncos.com recently caught up with Germany about being on the team with her twin sister, how she can improve this season and her interests besides running.
SCB: It's great that you and your sister came to college together. Is there a healthy sibling rivalry between you and Kayla?
LG: There has always been a lot of sibling rivalry between Kayla and I, especially in athletics and academics. In high school, we actually ended up being co-valedictorians and had very similar track and cross country times as well.
SCB: How do you push each other and build off each other?
LG: In my eyes, because we have the same genetics and have had the same training, there is no reason that we shouldn't be able to achieve the same things. Because of this, if she pulls ahead of me in a race or workout, I am that much more motivated to run faster because if she can do it, I know I should be able to do it too. We have been pushing each other in this way ever since we began running in high school. At first my high school coach, Doug Chase, was hesitant to enter us in the same races in the interest of "keeping the peace at the dinner table." However, when he finally did race us together, we shattered the two mile record of our high school. After that, he continued to enter us in races together.
SCB: After a season where you fought the injury bug, how do you hope to improve this season?
LG: This season, I have already improved a lot, running personal bests in both of the races we have run so far. By the end of the season, I am hoping to run sub 18 minutes for the 5K and sub 22 minutes for the 6K.
SCB: What is your favorite distance to run?
LG: My favorite distance to run is the 5K.
SCB: What do you like to do besides running?
LG: Other than running, I enjoy hanging out with friends, going to San Francisco, tutoring math, baking (and then eating whatever I make of course!), and hiking.
SCB: Where is your favorite place to go for a run?
LG: There are a lot of places where I love to run, but among my favorites are Niscene Marks, Quicksilver, Alum Rock, and Fall Creek.
SCB: What do you like about running at the Bronco Invite?
LG: I like how at the Bronco Invite some of our friends and family members come to cheer us on. It creates a great atmosphere to race in, and having our Santa Clara fans out there helps remind us who we represent and who it is we train so hard for.
Go Broncos!
